Essential oils have been super greenwashed. They aren’t really oils - they are extremely concentrated plant aromas that can also be highly volatile. Quality varies greatly and they have been known to irritate the skin even when in 1% dilution. People who work with essential oils know that you can’t even apply them directly to skin, a carrier oil is required to prevent skin reactions!

Often times essential oils aren’t providing the advertised benefit - you need a whole plant extract to get those benefits. To give you an idea of how strong they can be - some essential oils mimic estrogenic compounds causing hormonal issues and some are toxic to pets!

I’m not entirely against essential oils for other uses, but for skincare I avoid them and prefer to replace them with whole plant extracts that actually have benefits for the skin or stick to fragrance free!

In the future I plan to create balms with whole herb infusions but personally, I always like to have a simple balm to go back to which is why my first balm has no fragrances!